Denver's new outdoor beer emporium, adjacent to 1939 old Air Force hangar

For Joe Vostrejs, it was one of those light-bulb moments. Settling in with the New York Times one Sunday about 18 months ago, he read about the proliferation of German-inspired beer gardens in New York, mostly Brooklyn. He wasn’t even 100 percent sure what exactly made a beer garden a beer garden.

But as Vostrejs got to thinking, it struck him that a distinctly Colorado beer garden would be the ideal project to kick-start the retail development of Larimer Associates’ Hangar 2 project, housed in a hulking redeveloped airplane hangar in Lowry.

The Lowry Beer Garden opened last night with 16 craft beers on tap and Oktoberfest-style communal seating for 350 on picnic tables under the stars – the first large-scale beer garden in Denver, but probably not the last.

“I am actually a little shocked we don’t have them already,” said Vostrejs, chief operating officer for Larimer Associates, which operates Larimer Square, LoHi Steak Bar, Ernie’s Bar and Pizza and other restaurants. “Somebody needs to sort of break the ice.”

“Their reason for being is they’re outdoors – big, congenial, outdoor spaces,” Vostrejs said of beer gardens generally. “They are extraordinarily casual, and functional, almost as a public space. That’s sort of the magic that makes them work.”

Larimer Associates bought the 1939 Lowry Air Force Base hangar a couple of years ago and redeveloped the inside with self-storage units. The real estate investment and management firm gutted the East dock building attached to the hangar for the nearly 8,000 square-foot beer garden and restaurant. The outdoor area is 4,500 square feet, and a covered pavilion can be heated.

Vostrejs said the hope is to create something lacking in Lowry: an iconic restaurant, a place that could become synonymous with the neighborhood, in the mold of the Blue Parrot in Louisville or Sushi Den on South Pearl.

Front and center is the beer: 16 of the frequently rotating taps will always feature Colorado craft beer, from big names such as Avery, Odells, Left Hand and Breckenridge to smaller upstarts like Copper Kettle, with a mix of flagship and small batch brews. The remaining taps will feature a couple of German beers (Spaten, for one), and national craft brands like Deschutes out of Oregon.

There also will be an extensive bottled beer list. The food menu – on which chef Troy Guard of TAG in Larimer Square consulted – puts a Colorado stamp on traditional beer garden fare: spicy bison and pheasant brats, swapping out sauerkraut for chipotle cole slaw and avocado, and an extensive salad list of the kind not likely to be found at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich.

The beer garden concept seems a natural for Colorado, Vostrejs said, given the state’s temperate climate, vibrant craft beer culture and outdoor ethos. Yet hurdles exist to beer gardens spreading elsewhere: the cost can be prohibitive because location is important and a large outdoor seating area is essential, indoor space is needed to weather the winter months, and putting a loud, and beer-soaked outdoor party anywhere close to where people live is likely to spark neighborhood complaints.

“Location is going to be a challenge,” Vostrejs said. “If you want to do this on any kind of a scale, you’ve got to have sufficient outdoor space. They take up some room. You can do a tiny beer garden, but it starts to lose the magic of what makes a beer garden work. It’s got to hold a couple hundred people at the minimum.”

Because the Lowry Beer Garden is part of a neighborhood, live entertainment will be a “rare occurrence,” Vostrejs said. An Oktoberfest celebration will feature live music, but not into the wee hours, he said.

“We need to be respectful of our neighbors and make it work,” Vostrejs said. “And Lowry is a family neighborhood, so our beer garden is not going to take up a night club like atmosphere that is going to occur if you, say, locate in LoDo.”

Surely Denver Brew Co.’s out door patio qualifies a the first beer garden? Its got dogs and everything.

Guest

We already have “family beer gardens.” We call them parks.

Good idea ruined by location and invitation of children. Seems odd anyways, how is getting plowed outside considered a family-friendly activity?

Anonymous

I think you’re misreading the intent. This isn’t being marketed as a “family beer garden,” it’s a beer garden that happens to be in a family neighborhood and promises to be respectful of its surroundings.

justi

It looks like a nice place; but just like every authentic European culture, once it gets to America it looses most of its charm. This beer garden is nothing compared to the real ones in Bavaria. Sorry, nice try!

Our new iPad app serves as a guide to metro Denver’s bountiful breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, the holy trinity of craft beer enjoyment for followers and fans. Download the app for iPad .
Next time you head for a beer in Boulder, don’t forget your friend, Beers of Boulder and Boulder County, an iPad app from the Daily Camera. Download the app for iPad .

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!